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Israel began demolishing buildings and evacuating residents from a neighborhood in the occupied West Bank on Friday, hours after an attack by two Palestinian gunmen killed two Israeli soldiers and wounded three others near Hebron.

During a visit to Hebron, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had ordered "a cordon" around the cities of Hebron and Halhul that may extend to other areas.

He also said the military would forcibly evacuate the area where the attack took place and "transform it completely," signaling a possible large-scale military operation.

"The defense minister and I are considering a very extensive IDF (army) operation in Judea and Samaria, such as has not been carried out since the Six-Day War," Netanyahu said, referring to the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. "The IDF is ready to execute it, and we will set the timing, but it is on the way."

UN Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was deeply concerned by the closures and by reports of home demolitions and possible displacement in Hebron.

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Netanyahu says military operation in West Bank is 'on the way'